As India swings between these extremes, we spoke to Anupam Mishra, India’s most respected thinker and researcher on water, on where water policies have failed. How is it that Latur runs dry when desert communities that receive much less rain than Latur manage so well?

Mishra has spent long years studying social traditions and ancient water systems. He is the author of a revolutionary book on community water harvesting. Excerpts from an interview: